The TED staff has returned to our downtown New York office in the wake of the chaos churned by Hurricane Sandy. All day, there has been just one question on our minds: How can we help? The temperature will be creeping below freezing tonight, while many pockets of the East Coast remain without power and running water; meanwhile, many people have been rendered homeless by the storm.

Hurricane Sandy reminded us of a lot: the need to prepare for disasters, the importance of having gratitude for simple things like a hot shower, and the amazing power of people to step in and help those in need. Many TED staff members joined the patchwork quilt of recovery efforts being initiated all over the city. TED’s own Thaniya Keereepart shared her experience organizing in Red Hook yesterday, while UX Lead Aaron Weyenberg headed to the Park Slope Armory in Brooklyn, where residents of several evacuated homes for the elderly have been living for days. Alanna Beckman of our Partnerships team helped set up the website Race2Recover.com, which allowed those who had booked hotels for the cancelled New York City Marathon to donate their rooms to those in need. Media production coordinator Gwen Schroeder compiled and shared a list of trusted sources for friends outside NYC who can’t just jump in a car and help but want to.

Yet still, we’re left asking: What are the needs our community right now? Where are volunteers needed? Where should we give donations? Below, some links that may prove helpful in this ever-changing ecosystem.

Use Amazon’s Occupy Sandy registry to order specific supplies to be sent directly to Occupy Sandy at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew volunteer center in Clinton Hill. Supplies will be distributed from there.

To volunteer through Occupy Sandy, head to the St. Jacobi Church in Sunset Park. They will be dispersing volunteer groups to the areas in the biggest need. Find out more information at InterOccupy.net.

On Tuesday, Nov. 6th from 10am to 4pm, donate blood at Duane Reade and Walgreens in Times Square at 1471 Broadway.

Hurricane disruptions have also caused a shortage of platelets. Find information on platelet donation at NYBloodCenter.org.

Hurricane Sandy is currently hovering over the Atlantic Ocean, threatening a large swath of the United States’ East Coast, from North Carolina to Maine. With coastal areas evacuated, wind and rainfall picking up quickly and many transportation systems shut down in anticipation of flooding, millions of people are currently at home, just waiting for roughest […]

Team Rubicon’s latest mission is called Operation: Greased Lightning. What does that mean, you ask? In this powerful talk, given at TEDxSanDiego in 2011, Jake Wood shares his experience co-founding Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization that uses veterans to do the difficult work of search and rescue, supply disbursement and debris cleanup, helping those […]

Text: SOUP To: 20222 for a quick $10 Donation or Donate at http://www.masbia.org
If you want to donate to an amazing soup kitchen i’ve seen this one in action & they are helping Hurricane Sandy Victims as we speak..I plan to go try to volunteer myself and see what I can do…check out their video link of their volunteers speaking on their main page

Hello – Architecture for Humanity is currently pulling teams together in NYC to help with the rebuild efforts across NY and NJ – If you would like to volunteer, please sign up here: http://bit.ly/bk7neQ . If you would like to donate, please visit here: http://bit.ly/SxMkZN. For those of you in NY that would like to get involved, we are having a meeting at the Center for Architecture (536 LaGuardia Place) Nov.6th, 7PM. Thanks in advance!